Dr. Vivian Kaul Named Faculty Member of the Year
Otolaryngology residents at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston have recognized Vivian F. Kaul, MD, as Faculty Member of the Year for 2025. Dr. Kaul, a fellowship-trained neurotologist recruited in 2023, is chief of otology, neurotology, and lateral skull base and an assistant professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology.
Each year, residents of the department name the faculty member they feel has made the greatest impact on their learning experience. “This class of graduating residents challenged me as an educator because each person learned in a very different manner,” Dr. Kaul says. “However, once I found their ideal modality, we made great strides in their otology education.”
Dr. Kaul has expertise in the treatment of acoustic neuromas/vestibular schwannomas, epidermoid cysts, meningiomas, neurofibromatosis type 2, cerebrospinal fluid leaks and encephaloceles, and superior semi-circular canal dehiscence. After extensive training at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and Ohio State University in Columbus, she performs minimally invasive endoscopic ear surgeries and treats hearing loss through cochlear implantation and bone-anchored hearing aids; imbalance disorders; Ménière’s disease; vertigo; tinnitus; otosclerosis; and cholesteatoma. Her surgical expertise includes lateral skull base surgeries in conjunction with her neurosurgery partners, including but not limited to translabyrinthine, middle fossa, retrosigmoid, and infratemporal fossa craniotomies for schwannomas and globus tumors.
Her research focuses on patient education, cochlear implant outcomes, and lateral skull base outcomes; she has a special interest in enhancing medical communication between physicians and patients in ways that optimize patients’ understanding of their treatment. She was awarded a prestigious American Neurotology Society research grant for her innovative work on cochlear implant patient education, developing a multimedia platform to enhance communication and understanding for her patients. An accomplished speaker, she has delivered grand rounds and invited presentations globally on these subjects.
Dr. Kaul was recognized with UTHealth Houston’s Dean Teaching Excellence Award in May of 2025. A member of distinguished organizations including the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, the American Neurotology Society, the Triological Society, and the North American Skull Base Society, Dr. Kaul actively contributes to the training of new physicians and the advancement of her field. She serves as a peer reviewer for prominent journals that include The Laryngoscope, JAMA-Otolaryngology, and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and has coauthored numerous articles published in these journals. She is fluent in English and Mandarin.